This article was originally
published in American Thinker, May 26, 2009

The elected representatives of 'we the people' were hard at work last week on our
behalf. The new Obama administration churned out proposals and legislation on a
variety of fronts including the environment, the economy, and the (former) war on
terror.

In response to the Federal Reserve's report of an increasingly gloomy economic
forecast, with an expectation for higher unemployment and a steeper drop in economic
activity, our public servants in Congress introduced the Paid Vacation Act, requiring companies with more than 100
employees to offer a week of paid vacation for both full-time and part-time employees
after they’ve put in a year on the job.

In a boon to deadbeats, President Obama on Friday signed new credit card legislation and warned the American
people to be fiscally responsible, saying "Some get in over their heads by not using
their heads," he said. "I want to be clear: We do not excuse or condone folks who've
acted irresponsibly."

Exhibiting a firm grasp of the obvious, President Obama on Saturday boldly told
Americans what 50% of Americans already know: "We're running out of money".

This lack of money didn't keep Obama from proposing last week that the US contribute $100 billion, of the money we don't have,
to help the IMF with global bailouts. And on Friday evening of a holiday weekend,
it was leaked that the government had
'loaned' an additional $4 billion of our tax dollars (making a grand total
of $19.4 billion) to the soon to be bankrupt General Motors.

Also ignoring this lack of money, our public servants were hard at work trying to figure out how to bail out minority owned media. They're also crafting
a hugely expensive overhaul of health care system. The Senate proposed raising the federal excise tax on beer by 145% to pay for
it. Uncle
Sam also would snatch an additional $7 on a case of wine -- a staggering increase
of 233%. And that's just the start.

In case 'we the people' object, Obama's latest budget proposal includes plans to
double the budget of the IRS, to make sure all Americans
invest their fair share.

Thankfully for Democrats, only 24% of Americans understand what cap and trade is.
Probably even fewer understand that this legislation, called the largest tax increase
in history, will cost the average family app. $3,100 more per year in energy costs,
according to the
Heritage Foundation.

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Cap and Trade is being rushed through Congress, despite a new report showing that
levels of numerous gases linked with air pollution, like carbon monoxide, have fallen
off since 2001 and air quality in the U.S. has improved significantly over the last
decade. Translation: The greenhouse gases Congress is in such a rush to regulate
are at their lowest level in 19 years.

In a rare bit of under reported good news that could help ease our dependence on
foreign oil, Louisiana struck gold with a massive natural-gas discovery - estimated at some 200
trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That's the equivalent of 33 billion barrels
of oil, or 18 years' worth of current U.S. oil production.

House Democrats yawned, and continued crafting a bill described as a “sweeping” reform
of federal drilling rules, effectively reducing incentives for oil companies to
take advantage of our own ample energy resources. The House also voted down amendments designed to encourage nuclear power.

Speaking of our number one public servant, last week President Obama reassured
an anxious nation that upholding our values will shield us from terror. Whew. Unfortunately, a couple
days after this statement, an IED exploded outside a Starbucks in downtown Manhattan.
This, just after the FBI
apprehended a group of four Muslim bad boys who were allegedly planning
on blowing up other portions of New York.

These ex-convicts apparently adopted their fanatical Islamic leanings while incarcerated
in U.S. jails. The very jails President Obama seems determined to call home to the
really hardened bad boy terrorists currently residing in Camp Gitmo. But hey, Obama
is fulfilling
his pledge of transparency. Once these Gitmo guys set foot on US soil, they get lots of rights, and should they go to trial, terrorists the world over
will reap the transparent benefits of any discovery.

In other assorted work product last week, our Democrat elected officials shot down a GOP inquiry into Speaker Pelosi's very public
'mis-statement' about the CIA. With fellow Dems covering her backside, Speaker Pelosi,
on Sunday high tailed it to Shanghai, on the taxpayer's dime. Far
away from all those pesky reporters
who just aren't supposed to ask her questions she can't answer.

Oh, and House Democrats on Tuesday stopped a Republican
plan to force a campaign finance inquiry that likely would have
investigated several influential Democrats. It was the eighth time since late February
that the Republican move was halted.

This is what our public servants accomplished on our behalf last week. The only
remaining question is: What are 'we the people' going to do about it?

Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.comShe lives in South Carolina